STATE OF THE UNION’S TOMORROW NIGHT – And your Pro Health team is ready to tally up how many times Obama mentions the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare or HealthCare.gov. We’re betting that last term won’t get much love. But he really will have to talk about the health care law, POLITICO’s David Nather writes. “No more touch-the-base-and-keep-running treatments, the way he’s handled it the past couple of years. This time, he’ll be expected to linger on base a bit, at least long enough to acknowledge the launch of the biggest domestic achievement of his presidency — and do it in the least awkward way possible.” http://politico.pro/1leZUS5

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--Last year, the president mostly focused his health care policy remarks on Medicare, calling on lawmakers to embrace “modest reforms.” Too bad Congress was snoozing during that part. Maybe it’ll be more awake this year. But PULSE isn’t betting on it. Our Pro SOTU coverage last year: http://politico.pro/1hx4HsJ

--After last year’s address, Sen. Marco Rubio used the GOP response to rip into the health care law. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers will likely serve up more of the same tomorrow, minus the awkward water bottle sip.

Good morning, PULSE readers. Because it’s Monday, here’s a factoid: 150 years ago today, Dr. William Worrall Mayo publicly announced plans to open a private practice, which became the Mayo Clinic we know today. Your writer plans to celebrate this anniversary with a Grande skim peppermint mocha from you-know-where.

“Look at my PULSE in the mirror, underneath the power of the light.”

REPUBLICANS TO OBAMA: APOLOGIZE FOR ACA — Republicans have already weighed in on what they want to hear in SOTU, with Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) delivering the party’s weekly address Saturday and calling on the president to acknowledge the law is hurting Americans and take actions to fix it. “This isn’t the result of some website glitch. It’s a law that’s fundamentally flawed. And it’s hurting the very families who need affordable coverage and good-paying, full-time jobs the most,” Blunt said. The video: http://bit.ly/1hA2ZGR

SCOTUS TEMPORARILY BLOCKS CONTRACEPTION MANDATE — The Obama administration can’t enforce the health law’s contraception coverage requirements against Little Sisters for the Poor, the Supreme Court ruled late last week. At least for now, the Catholic nuns’ order won’t have to follow the procedure the Obama administration established for religious groups to escape complying with the mandate, according to an order the court issued without any noted dissent. Instead, they can simply send HHS a written notice that the order is a religious organization with “religious objections to providing coverage for contraceptive services.” http://politi.co/1aUU6GJ

HAPPENING TODAY — The House Rules Committee is scheduled to take up the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act at 5:00 p.m. The full chamber expected to pass it before House Republicans leave for their annual retreat on Wednesday.

AND THIS WEEK — The House Oversight Committee will hold its second hearing on the security of HealthCare.gov on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m., but this one will be closed to the media and public. It will include a repeat visit by Kevin Charest, HHS chief information security officer, and Milton Shomo of MITRE, which handled much of the site’s security assessments. At the same time, House Ways and Means will hold a hearing on the employer mandate and the ACA’s 30-hour definition of full-time employee.

DEDUCTIBLES, DEDUCED — I probably already lost your attention with that headline, but in case not, check out my “five questions” explainer on the hefty deductibles in some of the exchange plans. Are they really higher than in pre-Obamacare plans? How do they compare to employer-sponsored plans? Higher monthly premium equals lower deductible, right? Your deductible questions answered: http://politico.pro/1fgI3VV

DIRECT ENROLLMENT HITTING BUMPS — There are just two months left in the Obamacare enrollment season, but most insurers are still having trouble directly enrolling people who qualify for subsidies. Pro’s Brett Norman writes, “Upgrades have been promised to the feature of HealthCare.gov designed to facilitate this process, and carriers and brokers are trying to stay optimistic that they’ll come in time to help enroll a rush of applicants… CMS declined to comment this week on when the direct enrollment process would be fixed.” http://politico.pro/1i0Klc8

SENATE FINANCE SGR BILL: $150.4 BILLION — The CBO has scored the version of SGR repeal legislation passed by the Senate Finance Committee. It costs $150.4 billion over 10 years, but that includes nearly $40 billion in Medicare extenders that weren’t included in two other versions passed by the House Ways and Means and House Energy and Commerce. Those bills cost $121 billion and $146 billion, respectively. What happens next? Staff is currently negotiating to try to merge the three bills together. The Finance score: http://1.usa.gov/19UG8Gz

RNC HITS BACK AGAINST ‘WAR ON WOMEN’ — The Republican National Committee passed a resolution on Friday vowing to support candidates who take strong, public stances against abortion. The “war on women” slogan coined by abortion rights advocates demonizes GOP candidates and manipulates voters, the resolution says. It says that candidates should push back by “pointing out the extreme positions on abortion held by Democratic opponents.” http://politi.co/1e5lLGm

BRAIN-DEAD PREGNANT WOMEN REMOVED FROM LIFE SUPPORT — Marlise Munoz, the 33-year-old pregnant woman who spent two months on life support in Fort Worth, was taken off her ventilator Sunday morning. State District Judge R.H. Wallace had ruled Friday that Munoz is not subject to a state law prohibiting withdrawal of treatment from a pregnant woman. Her family had been petitioning the hospital to take her off life support, but the hospital had refused, citing the state law. The USA Today story: http://usat.ly/1i0XGB3

EMR USE GROWING — Our own doctor doesn’t seem to be making great strides in this area, but apparently more U.S. physicians are embracing electronic medical records, according to a new Commonwealth Fund study. Between 2009 and 2012 adoption of EMR’s by primary care physicians grew by half, from 46 percent to 69 percent. At the same time, only one third of doctors use health information exchange and offer patients access to data and there’s a large “digital divide” between large and small practices. The study: http://bit.ly/1eVCQ54

E-CIGARETTES REIGNITE TOBACCO WARS — They’re so popular that even Speaker Boehner’s been seen puffing on them. POLITICO’s Anna Palmer and Manu Raju report: “Big players in the tobacco world are betting the new electronic devices will surpass regular cigarette sales in the next 10 years, a multi-billion dollar boon for an industry that’s seen its profits tank over the last 50 years. But the FDA is set to decide soon whether the e-cigarette market should remain the Wild West, unfettered by strict advertising and other rules that apply to normal cigarettes. The looming FDA decision and increased attention on Capitol Hill and state capitals have set off a lobbying frenzy in Washington and across the country.” http://politi.co/1eVEwLT

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REACHING THE HARD-TO-REACH – Many of those eligible for Obamacare benefits — from homeless people and recently paroled inmates to former foster-case children — aren’t even aware of the law. Reaching these underserved populations remains a major concern and challenge, POLITICO’s Linsday Kalter reports from the Families USA Health Action conference on Saturday. http://politico.pro/1ldEHYP

STATE WEEK: EYES ON UTAH – Looking for more clues on how Republican-led states might look at the Medicaid expansion this year? Then Utah is the state to watch this week. Elsewhere, states with struggling exchanges are searching for ways to right the ship. For more, check out the latest State Week for Pros: http://politico.pro/1fhhobz

THREE MILLION WOMEN IN MEDICAID “COVERAGE GAP” — Three million women who would qualify for the health care law’s Medicaid expansion live in states that haven’t expanded the program, according to a report last week from the National Women’s Law Center. The 48-page report lays out the risks to these women in the “coverage gap” by examining their differences in health care access and use of preventive services with women who have access to Medicaid coverage. The report: http://bit.ly/KZWq5f

WHAT WE’RE READING

Insurers have cut thousands of doctors from Medicare Advantage plans over cost concerns, sparking a battle between the two, the Washington Post reports. http://wapo.st/1e7rlYA

A chief resident in neurological surgery at Stanford University writes in the New York Times about his lung cancer. http://nyti.ms/1hALJkM

Kids who qualify for Medicaid can’t be included in subsidized family plans purchased through the exchanges, making shopping tricky for their parents, the Associated Press reports. http://bo.st/L0eBHT

Clinics for the uninsured aren’t seeing a drop-off in patient loads even though the exchanges are open, the Miami Herald reports. http://hrld.us/1aV4A8Z

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Authors:

About The Author

Paige Winfield Cunningham is a health care reporter for POLITICO Pro and co-author of the morning newsletter Pulse. Previously she reported for The Washington Times’ political team, covering elections, Congress and health policy, including the 2012 Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act.

Cunningham grew up in St. Louis and attended college in the Chicago area, graduating from Wheaton College in 2006. She spent most of her time at the Wheaton Record, where she served as features editor, but made sure she still had time for playing violin in the conservatory orchestra.

Cunningham covered county government for the Naperville Sun right out of college, but when the paper filed for bankruptcy, she decided it was time to move on. She moved to the D.C. area in 2009 to report on Virginia government and currently lives in that state with her husband.